How To Extend A Job Offer To A Candidate

Picture this: you’ve narrowed down your talent pool to a single candidate, and you’re ready to hire—but are you wondering how to extend a job offer to a candidate? Follow these tips to successfully offer someone a job after the interview process.

How To Extend A Job Offer To A Candidate

Don’t surprise the candidate with a random call delineating the job offer. Instead, set up an in-person meeting or phone call during a specific timeslot. That way, the candidate has time to formulate a response to the offer.

When extending an offer, there are some preliminary questions to cover with the candidate: If we extended a formal offer, would it interest you to join our team? Does anything detract you from accepting this offer? When would you be able to start? Do you need more time to talk it over with your family/significant other? Would you stay with your current employer if they handed you a counter offer?

After those questions are answered, here’s how to extend a job offer to a candidate:

Make sure everything is clearly laid out. If you add something to the offer that the candidate was not expecting, make sure it’s a positive surprise. In the offer, be sure to cover salary, benefits, start date, and title of the position. Communicate every step of the way. What’s expected of the new hire in his or her role with the company? Make sure the offer is on a printed document, and if the candidate agrees to the offer, he or she must sign and date it to confirm acceptance.

You might consider including a deadline for a response to the offer. To save your time and resources, you won’t want a candidate waiting too long to either accept or decline your job offer. Of course, you can’t expect a candidate to respond immediately—so decide what the appropriate time frame is for a response. If the candidate takes longer than a week or two to respond (or if your hiring needs warrant a more timely response), set a deadline.

One of the best ways when learning how to extend a job offer to a candidate involves expressing why you chose him or her for the role. Be prepared to also negotiate salary—so research your capital beforehand and see where (or if) you can be flexible with pay. You might need to cover topics that arise such as remote work, flexible scheduling and even housing for a candidate who is relocating for the job.

The worst-case scenario, of course, is a candidate rejecting your offer. When facing that conversation, be sure to ask some follow-up questions: Why did you choose another role over this one? Was there something in the hiring process we could improve upon? What drew you toward and away from this offer?

Do you have any advice on how to extend a job offer to a candidate? Let us know!